Thursday, June 28, 2007

The Rich Are Different

Not only are they different than us normal slobs clinging desparately to the middle of the ladder, they don't actually give a flying fig leaf about us, even when they swear they do.

See, I made a ton of jokes about Daniel Island residents allowing low-income housing to be built on the island. Why? Surely not because they just love us po' folks and want us to have the same opportunity to live in beauty along side them. Most likely because CARTA doesn't run out there and they got tired of driving their maids home.

Now. Tommy Ravenel. Okay, he made his money the old fashioned way: he used Daddy's name to get proper financial backing and business contacts, then he did a good job. So, he deserves his millions. And now that he got caught holding the spoon, he's off to rehab land. Oooh, Sierra Tuscon. Looks posh. And at an average treatment cost of $45,180 - 65,995, I'll bet he gets all sorts of good help. I wonder if his health insurance is going to kick in for any of this? Nah. He'll pay out of pocket.

And I don't have a problem with this. Hell, he made his money (used his Daddy as a stepping stone, but hey, that's the way of the world, right?). I don't care if he spends that much a day on his rehab. But this is what ticks me off:

He and his ilk have cut funding and gutted social programs as if it were all coming out of their pockets. When a drug addict in Charleston finds out she is pregnant and goes to get help, she is told that there is a waiting list up to three to four months long, but just say no until then. When a homeless drug addict in Charleston just decides that he has had enough and wants to get better and a little help so he can get a job and a little apartment and become a respectable citizen, he is told to put his name on a list and maybe, maybe in four to six months, there will be a rehab bed available for him. And it don't come with no Olympic size swimming pool and gourmet dining hall.

Tommy Ravenel and his ilk have spent their lives making sure that the most down and out of us have no resources to call on when we need help all the while making sure that they have all the resources available to themselves.

That's what makes me angry. Climb that ladder, make your millions if you can, but stop cutting off the rungs for those below you.

Oh, and 500 grams, for our American audience, equals one pound, one ounce. A POUND.

Thor sez: Oh, please, poor people choose to use drugs because they are weak and immoral. Rich people like Tommy and Rush have medical conditions. Silly girl. Bring me some tuna. Human grade tuna, none of that swill cat food stuff that lazy retired people who were to immoral to save enough for retirement have to eat so they can afford their medications.